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ArabicArknights: How Did I Actually Become the Doctor? — Chapter 24
Chapter 24: At the End of Civilization, Adorned by Darkness and Starlight, We Shall Surely Meet Again
Kjerag was an achingly laid-back place.
Just how laid-back, exactly? The world outside their borders was practically ending, consumed by apocalyptic Catastrophes and the creeping rot of Originium infections, yet the people of Kjerag were still leisurely building massive ships. The locals even considered it a grave impiety to mount a defensive cannon on their sacred mountains.
Enciodes Silverash, the head of Karlan Trade, certainly looked the part of a cold, composed, and incredibly reliable snow leopard warlord. But in the eyes of the local Kjerag populace, he was really just the rebellious youth who had returned home from studying abroad to launch a startup.
The Doctor took a slow sip of the specialty butter tea that SilverAsh had personally poured for him. He scrutinized the man over the rim of his cup, projecting a sharp, calculated gaze that seemed capable of piercing right through a person’s soul.
SilverAsh maintained a calm expression, though the rhythmic, nervous tapping of his thick tail against the floorboards betrayed his inner tension. “I have yearned for this meeting for a long time, my future ally.”
Seriously, bro, phrasing. You sound so gay right now.
The Doctor’s terrifying mastermind facade instantly dissolved. His eyes drifted away, threatening to break character entirely, but after catching a glimpse of that incredibly fluffy, majestic tail swaying behind the CEO, he forced himself to hold it together.
He once thought he was a die-hard waifu loyalist, right up until his hands slipped and he accidentally pulled a top-tier husbando on the banner. As any veteran gacha addict knew, the gaming community was a chaotic wasteland where lore enthusiasts skipped the story, casuals flamed their own favorite characters, and meta-slaves couldn’t even calculate basic DPS.
Even as an experienced player, the Doctor had long forgotten the names of Kjerag’s other two ruling families. His brain was entirely rotted, leaving behind only the community memes. Blind box master. Learning to ice skate in three seconds. Don’t you think it’s cool to mount a cannon on my back?
He couldn’t even remember the actual plot of the Kjerag event. Maintaining a serious persona during this high-stakes negotiation was taking every ounce of his willpower!
Across the low table, SilverAsh noticed a slight break in the terrifyingly deep-thinking Doctor’s composed expression.
Is he mocking me? SilverAsh thought, his heart sinking. Would a tactician of his caliber really resort to such basic psychological pressure? Or is there a fatal flaw in my proposal that I failed to consider?
The next second, all of SilverAsh’s anxiety shattered.
The young mastermind opposite him glanced down at the drafted contract, then immediately choked on his butter tea, erupting into a violent fit of coughing. “What the hell, it’s this cheap?!”
The Doctor swore to the heavens that his usual negotiation tactics weren’t this sloppy. It was just that the prices SilverAsh had listed were absolutely unhinged!
Orundum traded for basic corn at a one-to-one ratio? Premium Originite Prime exchanged for standard medical facilities?
He suddenly gained a deep, terrifying realization of Kjerag’s pristine natural wealth. No wonder the game always depicted SilverAsh as a massive whale; the man was a legitimate tycoon. If the Doctor’s previous trade agreements with other Terra factions involved ruthlessly scraping the profit off their bones, then Karlan Trade was an unmatched, honest saint that had simply slit its own artery and offered Rhodes Island a cup, happily showing exactly how much blood was flowing out!
SilverAsh, meanwhile, was ecstatic. He had initially braced himself for the worst. Intelligence reports suggested the Doctor would employ ruthless tactics to drive resource prices down to a margin that barely covered shipping costs—exactly like the Victorian and Columbian corporations currently circling Kjerag like vultures.
Karlan Trade was still in its infancy. SilverAsh had swallowed his pride and accepted his fair share of unequal treaties before; for the sake of Kjerag’s modernization, he was fully prepared to hold his nose and bleed. But this? A massive, equal partner falling from the sky to offer fair market rates? For Karlan Trade, this was a windfall of epic proportions!
The contract, which both parties secretly believed they were robbing the other blind over, was finalized with unmatched speed. Just as SilverAsh stood up with a virtuous, winning smile to refill the teapot, the Doctor suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“Ally, do you have any further requests?” SilverAsh asked. When it came to giving away resources, he didn’t hesitate for a second. His gaze toward the Doctor was as gentle as melting snow. “I can take it upon myself to provide you with additional supplies as a token of our newfound friendship.”
Damn it, I’m not the type to be so repressed that I wouldn’t even spare a snow leopard. Boss SilverAsh, please act normal!
The Doctor released his grip, feigning nonchalance. “Boss SilverAsh, I feel as though we are old friends who have finally met. Rhodes Island is committed to curing the suffering of this land.”
“After our brief time together, I’ve realized you are a kindred spirit, someone worth building a deep relationship with. I wonder… would you be interested in a much deeper cooperation?” The Doctor leaned forward, tapping the table. “We will handle seventy percent of Karlan Trade’s export volume. In return, we will provide complete technical support in heavy industry, centralized heating, Originium ore processing, and even military research.”
Smack.
SilverAsh grabbed the Doctor’s hand back, his reflexes terrifyingly fast. He leaned down, his expression radiating an even deeper, more intense affection. “My dear ally. Karlan Trade will face the coming storms of the future side-by-side with Rhodes Island!”
“Tell me… what price must we pay for this?” SilverAsh took a shaky breath, bracing himself for the inevitable catch. Mining rights? Total control over their road construction? Or perhaps they sought the divine power left behind by the Great Beast Kjera?
Such generous technical assistance was something he had begged the international community for, to no avail. No one wanted a strong Kjerag. They only wanted a cheap, exploitable quarry. Now, Rhodes Island was handing him the keys to the future.
The Doctor hardened his heart, steeling himself for the demand.
“We… we need snow leopards! We need more snow leopards!”
SilverAsh blinked. “…Excuse me?”
“That’s right!” The Doctor had absolutely no idea how to logically explain that he just wanted to recruit the CEO as a playable operator, so he bit the bullet and fully committed to the bit. “The personnel at Rhodes Island just really, really love snow leopards! Seeing a snow leopard boosts our morale! We are partnering with you not just for your grand ideals, but because of your beautiful, fluffy tail!”
In the corner of the room, Kal’tsit’s ceramic coffee cup slipped from her fingers and shattered against the floor.
The sheer perversion of the statement was mortifying at first, but the more the Doctor spoke, the more he abandoned any concept of personal shame.
“Ally, come visit the landship! We have a cooperative external operator system. If you join Rhodes Island as an operator, I’ll increase our purchasing price for Orundum by another two percent!”
SilverAsh didn’t say a single word. He just hurriedly released the Doctor’s hand, whipped out his communication terminal, and dialed a number.
Did I push it too far? Did I screw everything up? The Doctor suddenly realized how utterly insane he sounded. Panic set in. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten carried away with the gacha brainrot…
Kal’tsit’s feline ears twitched. Her hearing was far sharper than a normal human’s, and she easily picked up the faint voice speaking through the receiver.
“Yes, I’ll have to leave the company in your hands for a while, Gnosis,” SilverAsh whispered urgently into the phone. “Pack Encia’s bags… bring Anya along too. Actually, help me check the family tree and see if we have any distant relatives with exceptionally nice tail patterns. Bring all of them.”
[Rhodes’s Note: The Doctor’s shock at the trade prices stems from the in-game economy. Orundum and Originite Prime are premium gacha currencies used to pull for characters and buy skins, making them infinitely more valuable to a “player” than standard commodities like corn or basic medical supplies.]